The reading and mathematics achievement of the country's 8th grade students improved in the last two years, but the performance of 4th graders remains stubbornly mixed, with progress in math, but not in reading, according to national test data released Thursday.
The results of the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as "the nation's report card," show that 8th graders' average score in math rose 1 point since 2011, the last time the test was given, and 3 points in reading on NAEP's 500-point scale. Fourth graders gained 1 point in math; there was no statistically significant gain in reading.
Larger shares of students reached the "proficient" level in 2013 than did so in 2011, and achievement was far higher than when the tests were first given in the early 1990s. But the numbers still painted a less-than-rosy picture of American academic strength: In grade 4, only 42 percent of students are proficient in math, and 35 percent are proficient in reading. In grade 8, 36 percent are proficient in reading and math.
Hispanic and black students improved their scores, but gaps between their performance and those of their white and Asian peers have not improved since 2011. Disparities between the achievement of girls and boys persisted, as well.
In math, Hispanic students improved 2 points, and girls improved 1 point, since 2011 at both grade levels. Black students' achievement has been flat for the past two years. Asian students' scores rose only in 8th grade, by 4 points.
In reading, minority achievement was flat in the 4th grade, but in 8th, Asian students gained 5 points, Hispanic students gained 3 points, and black students gained 2 points. Boys' scores went up 2 points, and girls' rose 3 points.
Proficiency rates varied widely by race, ethnicity, gender, and income level. In 2013, 51 percent of Asian students and 46 percent of white students reached proficiency in 4th grade reading, compared with 20 percent of Hispanic students and 18 percent of black students. Forty-two percent of girls were reading at or above the proficient level in 8th grade, while only 31 percent of boys were doing so. Only one quarter of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals reached proficiency in 4th grade math, compared with 59 percent of their wealthier peers.
